What is the rule about saving a seat by the pool?

[PammyK]

There was a family that would beat us to the pool each morning, sort of... We spent hours lounging next to flip flops and magazines but never saw the family until we were packing up for lunch

This is where, for me, my evil twin, KymmaP, would want to come out. She would take the flip flops and magazines and relocate the footwear and reading material and then play the innocent when those people came back. "What? No, I didn't see any flip flops by that chair. But you know, when I got here I think I saw something on the other side of the pool in the 2nd row. Are you sure that isn't where you left your stuff?" And put the stuff somewhere different every morning to make them feel like they were losing their minds.

Would I ever really do it? No. But boy could you have some fun with it, lol.

 

[lmhall2000]

I am so tempted to be the fairy chair angel! Would it not be a little gracious if after my 5:30 am workout at the gym (ship is so dead at that time!) that i do my post workout stretching by the pools. As I take in the view, if someone comes down and lays one personal item on many chairs, I just go (after they are clear of course bc fairies always liked to remain unseen) and nicely place all items on one chair

 

[PizzieDuster]

I am so tempted to be the fairy chair angel! Would it not be a little gracious if after my 5:30 am workout at the gym (ship is so dead at that time!) that i do my post workout stretching by the pools. As I take in the view, if someone comes down and lays one personal item on many chairs, I just go (after they are clear of course bc fairies always liked to remain unseen) and nicely place all items on one chair

Do it Here's some fairy dust for ya!

I love that this thread hasn't turned "bad".

I also wish I was boarding this week end! I'm all pumped up and ready

 

[kcashner]

I am so tempted to be the fairy chair angel! Would it not be a little gracious if after my 5:30 am workout at the gym (ship is so dead at that time!) that i do my post workout stretching by the pools. As I take in the view, if someone comes down and lays one personal item on many chairs, I just go (after they are clear of course bc fairies always liked to remain unseen) and nicely place all items on one chair

Better yet, place all their items on one of the towel holder bins, thus freeing up ALL the chairs. Yeah, I'm a jerk.

 

[nancy drew]

This behavior is not limited to cruises, either. For years, my parents stayed at a hotel in Florida and my uncle would get up at 6:00 AM every day so he could "go put out our towels" and get his coffee at the front desk, My parents would sleep until ten or eleven, have a leisurely breakfast, and then go out to the pool to their waiting chairs, the ones in the best spots. God help the family who was on their week's vacation who dared to sit in one of the retirees' chairs, which, interestingly, sat right beneath the sign that said, "No saving of lounge chairs with personal items." The drama that would ensue was insane. The management wouldn't get involved, and the poor family with kids would be driven off by the enraged retirees. What a scene.

Now this reminds me of something my friends and I did as college kids in FL. There were massive chair hogs at the beach resort, the type described here who would lay a towel and their belongings on 6 chairs then stop by for 4 minutes to sip some water, change shirts, and leave again for the rest of the day. Well, being stupid college kids, we wanted to A) sleep, because we had been awake until 5am, and B) get tan, because we didn't care about skin cancer. We could do both at the same time on the beach, so we wanted chairs! So we would get up crazy early and get chairs, go have breakfast, then come back and sleep in our chairs for a few hours, play volleyball 10 feet away (with more kids coming in, so someone was almost always in or on the chairs) etc. Sometimes we were too late, or we just needed one more chair, so we would find the Least Occupied Chair and snag it. However, we had to be careful, because if we dragged it through the sand and someone came looking for it, the trail led straight to us. So we would drag the chair elsewhere, then swap it for another chair, and carry that chair to our seats. Confused Family would come back to their chairs, follow the tracks, and marvel at the nerve of some people who took "their" chair. We just watched and giggled.

Thanks for this. I'm going to print a whole bunch up and stuff 'em in the flip-flops and books left on chairs for hours!

Don't be someone who finds one of these in YOUR flip-flops!!

Yes!!! Make them postcard size!! Fantastic idea! I would totally do this.

This is where, for me, my evil twin, KymmaP, would want to come out. She would take the flip flops and magazines and relocate the footwear and reading material and then play the innocent when those people came back. "What? No, I didn't see any flip flops by that chair. But you know, when I got here I think I saw something on the other side of the pool in the 2nd row. Are you sure that isn't where you left your stuff?" And put the stuff somewhere different every morning to make them feel like they were losing their minds.

Would I ever really do it? No. But boy could you have some fun with it, lol.

Oh yes! Gaslight them! Similar to my story above! I like the way you think

I am so tempted to be the fairy chair angel! Would it not be a little gracious if after my 5:30 am workout at the gym (ship is so dead at that time!) that i do my post workout stretching by the pools. As I take in the view, if someone comes down and lays one personal item on many chairs, I just go (after they are clear of course bc fairies always liked to remain unseen) and nicely place all items on one chair

I would LOVE to see this!! The Chair Of Plenty! I bet people would fight over which chapstick is theirs.

Better yet, place all their items on one of the towel holder bins, thus freeing up ALL the chairs. Yeah, I'm a jerk.

No, not a jerk, you are a fairy chair giver! Free the chairs!

 

[ThePicketts]

FREE THE CHAIRS!

FREE THE CHAIRS!

FREE THE CHAIRS!

I think that should be our solemn oath and chant it when we liberate.

 

[lucyem]

I very fair skinned and I like to sit outside but I NEED to be in the shade. Watching towels lounge in the shade is beyond frustrating. Its a non issue for us on a cruise - those pools are nasty. But when at a resort trying to watch kids in the pool, shade is pretty limited And at the water parks Don't get me started.

 

[Green Tea]

Is this an issue at the adult only pool as well? I don't need to be front row, but I would like to be on the same deck as the pool.

I think the cubby idea is genius. It ought to be stand on every cruise ship.

And at pools/resorts, when you are finished with your chair, remove the towel so the chair opens up. So often I will see folks pack up for the day and leave the towels still up on the chair. If you take them away, or even just push to the end of the lounger, others coming in will know the chair is available.

 

[WallaceFamily]

Is this an issue at the adult only pool as well? I don't need to be front row, but I would like to be on the same deck as the pool.

I think the cubby idea is genius. It ought to be stand on every cruise ship.

And at pools/resorts, when you are finished with your chair, remove the towel so the chair opens up. So often I will see folks pack up for the day and leave the towels still up on the chair. If you take them away, or even just push to the end of the lounger, others coming in will know the chair is available.

Had no idea...because why would anyone leave their dirty towel on the lounger when there is a place to put the dirty towels? Do people expect the next person to pick up their dirty towels? Or do they assume that the CMs will do it?

And it seems to be a problem at all the pools last time I was on the Magic. I think it is a problem for people looking for shade (including me) because if people wanted to sunbathe, the upper decks are perfect.

 

[dvcdisney]

I love the cubbies idea, but I doubt this will make a dent on people hogging the chairs.

My family of 4 uses one chair at the pool. If we use a cubbie, it will only free up one chair. And it is most likely people like us who would be using the cubbie.

The problem here is not with those of us who would use the cubbies, it is with:

1. those guests who HAVE to have a chair for each member even though only half of them would be using it
2. those guests who save the seats as soon as they get up only to use it hours later and save it for the whole day

There is no telling anyone who is rude enough to do #1 to be considerate and only take a few chairs unless they know they will be using all of them at the same time. I think it would be futile. the word consideration is NEVER in their vocabulary.

But guests who fit in the #2 catergory can be dealt with. I've been on the deck a few times early and seeing the loungers saved with no one anywhere near the pool. I see the CMs there walking around. I think part of the CMs job should be to inform those guests who are there early to save seats (without actually sitting in them) that they cannot save the seats for extended periods of time. If they have been away from the pool area for over 45 min, then he can gather up their things and place them all in a cubbie. So when the guests finally comes back, they will realize their things are gone and would go to a CM and ask. Each CM should be able to direct them to the location of the cubbies where their things are and to explain to them that they cannot leave their things there all day. It would also be great if the CMs can have a sticky note placed in the cubbie to show the time that it was put in the cubbie so they can explain to the guest that leaving their things on 7 chairs for 3 hours is not permitted. They could even leave a little notice with their things explaining the rules about early-seat-saving.

This method wouldn't work during the day when the pool areas are crowded and would be difficult to track, but this can decrease the amount of early-seat-savers. This in itself is a step in the proper direction.

 

[GoofyTwinDad]

In a perfect world CM's would do their jobs and keep people from saving loungers for extended periods of time. But lets be honest with each other from their side of business. The risk of upsetting the "hoggers" compared to making those of us who do follow rules happy isnt worth it to DCL. The CM's do not know if the sunbathing flip flop belongs to a concierge guest or a lowly first timer staying in an inside cabin. Why would they take the risk of upsetting someone who may take issue and report it on the comment cards.

 

[WallaceFamily]

In a perfect world CM's would do their jobs and keep people from saving loungers for extended periods of time. But lets be honest with each other from their side of business. The risk of upsetting the "hoggers" compared to making those of us who do follow rules happy isnt worth it to DCL. The CM's do not know if the sunbathing flip flop belongs to a concierge guest or a lowly first timer staying in an inside cabin. Why would they take the risk of upsetting someone who may take issue and report it on the comment cards.

So sad, but probably true.

 

[PrincessAurora]

But why can't the comment cards work the other way? If the "hogs" can complain on the comment cards about CM's moving their stuff from "their" chair, why can't the law abiding fill out cards as well saying CM's/Disney should enforce their rules and not put guests in the position of doing their job for them?

Perhaps if they got a deluge of cards either (a) praising by name the CMs that stood up for you/followed company policy and (b) complaining that CMs not enforcing company policy negatively impacted your cruising experience and may influence your choice of liner in the future, perhaps that might do something.

If the squeaky wheel gets the grease then can't we squeak back? Are we men or are we mice?

 

[TheRealDrDisney]

...if you are in the pool or taking a pee break...

Wait - you say that like it's two different things!

JK!!!!!



Yes - my sense of humor is that warped...

 

[jdb in AZ]

If the squeaky wheel gets the grease then can't we squeak back? Are we men or are we mice?

We be Mickey Mice!

 

[Rogillio]

Real estate is at a premium on the ship....especially on the pool decks. Soon people will be complaing about those cubbie-hogs that put stuff in there and leave it there all day! ;-)

Here's a thought. Each passenger is given a cheap cloth bag (with a spot to write your name). By the pools they provide a peg board with a bunch of pegs where you can hang you bag while in the pool.

 

[chateau]

Know what I think? I think the OP doesn't want chair saving on their cruise and is RALLYING us!!! This thread is FUNNY!!

Real estate is at a premium on the ship....especially on the pool decks. Soon people will be complaing about those cubbie-hogs that put stuff in there and leave it there all day! ;-)

Here's a thought. Each passenger is given a cheap cloth bag (with a spot to write your name). By the pools they provide a peg board with a bunch of pegs where you can hang you bag while in the pool.

Better yet, why don't we all go as natural as we were born and forego all our "stuff".... oops, wrong cruise line.

 

[Bear3412]

Better yet, why don't we all go as natural as we were born and forego all our "stuff".... oops, wrong cruise line.

And place the RFID chip under our skin at check in, so we can continue purchases and open our cabin hatches.

 

[chateau]

Regarding little signs put on items used to save chairs...

Yes!!! Make them postcard size!! Fantastic idea! I would totally do this.

Already done! I printed 'em on sticky paper and ran 'em through the paper cutter.... pre-made, ready to stick onto the item(s). Quick and easy (and NON confrontational). I know, a lot of people won't care, but I'LL be having fun!

 

[GoofyTwinDad]

Regarding little signs put on items used to save chairs...

Already done! I printed 'em on sticky paper and ran 'em through the paper cutter.... pre-made, ready to stick onto the item(s). Quick and easy (and NON confrontational). I know, a lot of people won't care, but I'LL be having fun!

Why not use some super glue so they wont be able to remove it from their items. That way they will forever be marked as a lounge hog like just like in the olden days with the Scarlet letter.